I'd really like to se something we can throw in the archive that is well thought out and can be a basic guide to those who would like to build their motors (rebuild for reliability, strength, power, etc... it all starts pretty much the same). Obviously each application will vary and everyone who builds their motor will tweak it a bit, but a general guidline with prices so people can basically option their rebuild to their budget and also know what they are getting.
With that said I did about 3 minutes worth of searching, and quite a bit of time typing and have a start. First of all, I don't see rebuilds as something you should go cheap on, with that said I do think you should shop around. Here's a quick list of what I found quickly that I know would be needed (somewhat organized).
Start with a Flatlander Complete Rebuild Kit.
$459.00 Listed on the site. Contains head gasket, valve cover gaskets, viton valve stem seals, and all other required sealing gaskets, strips and plugs, oil pan gasket where applicable timing gasket, rear main seal, set of pistons and rings, main bearings, rod bearings, thrust washers, timing belt, and a set of expansion plugs. Pistons & Rings:
Available in Std., .020 over, .040 over. Bearings: Std., 10, 20, 30.
Next to do the job right you need a new water pump.
$62.00 at any autoparts store (90% of the cars on this board have the 32mm pulley I believe).
Along with that you should replace the Timing Belt Tensioner Arm.
$140 or $160 I believe. Available at Mazda, do not get this from anywhere else the quality is not the same.
Since our cars usually die from oil starvation, I would go ahead and spring for a new Oil Pump.
$90 to $115 and available from Flatlander or Autoparts Stores. $199 for the highflow. I've heard that all are the same, you decide. Also, while you are doing your pump, find a 3mm washer to shim your pump. This increases pressure.
If you would like to replace your valves (12 intake and 12 exhaust).
$8.00 and $9.00 respectively ($204.00 total) from flatlander (very nice place btw) .
Also available are our HLA's. They have the standard KL size 30mm HLA's, I do not see any of the slightly larger type used on ZE heads. This may be a good idea if you don't like the tapping, though Silver_Bullit recently posted a way to clean/refresh HLA's.
$13.00 each ($312 total).
That makes up most of the 'parts' for a mostly stock rebuild.
For a more performance oriented engine you really should look at each major component and see what you can do with it to improve it. I'll start with the things that need the least/have the least improvment possible.
Crank: Our factory crank is great. Polish it, for basically no payout. Knife-edgeing is basically worthless unless you're rebuilding your engine every few 1/4 passes. Basically leave the crank alone. It's good, strong and basically will never hold you back.
Heads: Nobody has really flowbenched our heads to find where the real performance gains can be had. Removing casting marks, smoothing things out and basically cleaning them up is always a good thing (well, unless you screw up flow). Decking the heads is possible as our engines are non-interferance. I believe .055" is the maximum the heads can be decked before the engine becomes interferance (Mazda Comp). .035" will require you to adjust your timing. Stem seals are included in the Flatlander kit.
ZE Heads are a good possible upgrade. With ZE Heads your HLA's will not all be the same side (iirc intake are larger, exhaust are the same 30mm). Again, until someone puts them on a flow bench I can't say where to remove material other than clean up the basic things.
I have not priced out headwork myself, but I think for a rebuilt head with a valvejob, and general clean up work I think it is about $250-350???
Cams: mikeseli is basically cam literate. He offers multiple grinds for specific applications (na; FI, and n20) often available in the BB forum for $375-425 his also do not require shims. Other companies do it, but I'm not sure of their pricing (someone want to post?)
Valve Springs: Um, I'm not this good but I know that some people have upgraded theirs. I don't know to what rate or any of that junk... someone post it in.
Pricing??
Valves: Larger valves aren't something that many people have explored and I don't know how much room there is (again, I'm not the smartest guy here, just trying to get something together). Stronger valves, shotpeened valves, polished valves, any of the above.
Pricing??
With that said I did about 3 minutes worth of searching, and quite a bit of time typing and have a start. First of all, I don't see rebuilds as something you should go cheap on, with that said I do think you should shop around. Here's a quick list of what I found quickly that I know would be needed (somewhat organized).
Start with a Flatlander Complete Rebuild Kit.
$459.00 Listed on the site. Contains head gasket, valve cover gaskets, viton valve stem seals, and all other required sealing gaskets, strips and plugs, oil pan gasket where applicable timing gasket, rear main seal, set of pistons and rings, main bearings, rod bearings, thrust washers, timing belt, and a set of expansion plugs. Pistons & Rings:
Available in Std., .020 over, .040 over. Bearings: Std., 10, 20, 30.
Next to do the job right you need a new water pump.
$62.00 at any autoparts store (90% of the cars on this board have the 32mm pulley I believe).
Along with that you should replace the Timing Belt Tensioner Arm.
$140 or $160 I believe. Available at Mazda, do not get this from anywhere else the quality is not the same.
Since our cars usually die from oil starvation, I would go ahead and spring for a new Oil Pump.
$90 to $115 and available from Flatlander or Autoparts Stores. $199 for the highflow. I've heard that all are the same, you decide. Also, while you are doing your pump, find a 3mm washer to shim your pump. This increases pressure.
If you would like to replace your valves (12 intake and 12 exhaust).
$8.00 and $9.00 respectively ($204.00 total) from flatlander (very nice place btw) .
Also available are our HLA's. They have the standard KL size 30mm HLA's, I do not see any of the slightly larger type used on ZE heads. This may be a good idea if you don't like the tapping, though Silver_Bullit recently posted a way to clean/refresh HLA's.
$13.00 each ($312 total).
That makes up most of the 'parts' for a mostly stock rebuild.
For a more performance oriented engine you really should look at each major component and see what you can do with it to improve it. I'll start with the things that need the least/have the least improvment possible.
Crank: Our factory crank is great. Polish it, for basically no payout. Knife-edgeing is basically worthless unless you're rebuilding your engine every few 1/4 passes. Basically leave the crank alone. It's good, strong and basically will never hold you back.
Heads: Nobody has really flowbenched our heads to find where the real performance gains can be had. Removing casting marks, smoothing things out and basically cleaning them up is always a good thing (well, unless you screw up flow). Decking the heads is possible as our engines are non-interferance. I believe .055" is the maximum the heads can be decked before the engine becomes interferance (Mazda Comp). .035" will require you to adjust your timing. Stem seals are included in the Flatlander kit.
ZE Heads are a good possible upgrade. With ZE Heads your HLA's will not all be the same side (iirc intake are larger, exhaust are the same 30mm). Again, until someone puts them on a flow bench I can't say where to remove material other than clean up the basic things.
I have not priced out headwork myself, but I think for a rebuilt head with a valvejob, and general clean up work I think it is about $250-350???
Cams: mikeseli is basically cam literate. He offers multiple grinds for specific applications (na; FI, and n20) often available in the BB forum for $375-425 his also do not require shims. Other companies do it, but I'm not sure of their pricing (someone want to post?)
Valve Springs: Um, I'm not this good but I know that some people have upgraded theirs. I don't know to what rate or any of that junk... someone post it in.
Pricing??
Valves: Larger valves aren't something that many people have explored and I don't know how much room there is (again, I'm not the smartest guy here, just trying to get something together). Stronger valves, shotpeened valves, polished valves, any of the above.
Pricing??
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